The disclosures herein relate generally to portable computer and more particularly to a bezel cover and a spring latch mounted adjacent a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel in a top portion of the portable computer.
Portable laptop or notebook computers include a base and a top which is pivotally connected to the base at a hinged connection. When the top is raised, a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel mounted therein is exposed. The LCD panels are costly components available from several manufacturing sources and are available in various sizes. In addition, the spacing and orientation of the mounting points for one manufacturer may vary from the spacing and orientation of the mounting points for another manufacturer. As a result, several different top configurations are required for mounting the various size LCD panels and their multiple mounting points.
LCD panels are mounted between the top housing and a bezel. Various size LCD panels have different "active" areas, i.e. the area of the panel that becomes illuminated and is visible. As a result, the bezel used must cover the peripheral edges of the LCD panel in a manner which exposes only the active area for a particular panel. LCD panels are more recently being side mounted to a bracket mounted in the top housing. This has been done so that larger LCD panels can be mounted in the same size top housing as the smaller panels.
In order to secure the side mounted panels to the bracket, openings have been provided in the side walls of the top to allow access to the screw-type fasteners used to secure the panel to the bracket. The openings however are aesthetically unacceptable and have been covered either with a long adhesive strip which covers all of the openings, or with individual adhesive covers for each opening. Assembly of these covers creates opportunities for manufacturing defects and requires additional labor. In addition, extra parts are required to be purchased and assembled to cover these fastener openings.
Portable computer tops latch to the base when the top is closed or nested on the base. When unlatched, the top is rotated open thus exposing a keyboard on the base and the LCD panel mounted in the top. The latch which secures the base and top is typically mounted in the top adjacent an edge of the LCD panel. As a result, the amount of space available for the latch is limited. In addition, the increase in panel size has created additional space limitations for mounting the latch in the top. Furthermore, latch durability is always a concern.
A recent latch construction includes a molded plastic latch resiliently mounted by using a leaf spring attached to the latch. The latch also uses a hook which is plastic and subject to damage. One solution has been to provide a metal hook. However, a draw back is that the metal hook must be painted or anodized to provide an acceptable cosmetic finish to match the surrounding plastic of the latch. Also, rough edges of the plastic hook must be removed to limit the metal hook from causing damage to the mating plastic receiver.
Therefore, what is needed is a top which has a side mounted LCD panel and includes an aesthetically advantageous solution to covering fastener openings in the side walls of the top without requiring added parts and labor. Also a slim-line spring latch is needed which does not demand space needed to accommodate larger LCD panels and which is reinforced with metal without requiring additional painting or anodizing operations. In addition, the reinforced latch must be compatible with mating plastic parts.